You heard Alice Cooper, “School’s out for summer!” But if you work for a university system, or a school in general, then you know that it is not out forever! I am approaching five years of working in university systems as a web developer and network administrator and I am finding a solid appreciation for the summer flow.

The sense of urgency attributed to every task during the traditional academic semesters fades just enough to allow everyone to play catch-up. And if you have any luck, you even get to work on those fun side projects that always get pushed to the side during the year. If there are big systems and software that need updated, there’s time for that without fear of students, professors, and other administrators being inconvenienced. Day-to-day operations remain the same, of course, but the ease of summer matches the peaceful pace of empty courtyards and hallow hallways.

Also perfect for summer is sneaking in some me-time or family-time or just some get-the-hell-away-from-it-all time. In fact, it is a must! This summer, I am planning on visiting all of our beaches and walking as many cliff-side coasts with white sandy shores as I can find. My husband and I are awaiting our Passports and as soon as they come in we plan on crossing the border for the first time! I have in-laws coming for a couple of days this month and I look forward to showing them all around SoCal as well. And I am just a smidgen excited for the release of Shadowbringers, Final Fantasy XIV’s latest expansion that I am playing non-stop for the next week. . .or three. I have been looking forward to it all year and its release just so happens to overlap with my vacation so I am set!

I hope that your summer is off to a great start and that whether you are updating your lesson plans, overhauling your office’s documents vault, putting words to the page for that book you want to write, or simply slipping away into a pro tempore summer oasis, be sure to enjoy yourself just a little bit more. It’s summer!